E30 Zone

Just asking out of curiosity really, has anyone ever bothered tuning a 320i? Was poking around the zone shop and was wondering if theres much point.
Please dont say stick in a 325 lump as im 18 and cant insure a 325!

Cheers!

You can fit the 325i throttle body and intake manifold and possibly the AFM (Im not sure if the AFM will fit or do anything to increase BHP). The 320i head will need a bit of work on the inlet ports to match the larger intake, but its all possible.

A chip (Zone chip £55) and a decent exhaust should also help, although the 325i exhaust is pretty good and dont forget a nice 6 branch manifold

People will always say 'stick a 2.5 in' because youre not going to get near the 325i's power with a 320i, unless you spend big money - which you could spend on the 2.5 and get even more power.

IMO, if youre going to keep the car for a while, spend a few £Â£Ã‚£ on some of the mods above to get a little extra poke, but then focus on the handling and stopping and then save the money for a 2.5 motor - you wont be 18 forever.

forget tunning your engine. just pissing in the wind.

drop in a 2.5. dont worry about insurance as the blocks are the same. instant 170bhp, about £200 and a bit of labour should do it.

Labour isnt free, considering I no nothing about engine conversions. Can you not tell 325 and 320 engines apart?

juilian

no sir. they look the same. apart from a couple of things(inlet etc).

lump drops straight in. im in bristol and can supply and fit an engine for you. makes much more sence than the 2 litre.

julianm40 wrote:Can you not tell 325 and 320 engines apart?

Yes you can and on the off chance you have an accident (serious or not) or need to make a claim for any reason, and youre unlucky enough to have an insurance assessor come and view the car, you can say goodbye to any insurance cover.

Its not worth the risk.

On the upside - 320i to 325i conversion isnt hard, as jonb said, its all pretty much the same.

The differences in appearance are small though and I would have thought only people like ourselves would know which was which.

Like you say jmc, definatley not worth the risk. Wait till im older before doing anything like that. Think il get the sebring zaust and manifold, make it sound and handle nice for now.

I have a 320i, obviously my mates 325 whoop me on long roads, so I went the lower it and stop it route, I can honestly say they are very frustrated on back roads, cant keep up. Just a bugger when they get lower profile tyres, lower suspension and better brakes.

A 2.5 is on the cards for me so modding the 2.0 isnt much point. Although being beaten by a clio sport the other day has upped the 2.5 delivery date. Like they say you aint 18 forever bud, concentrait on stoping and handling ready for the 2.5 lump.

Mark.

jonb wrote:juilian

no sir. they look the same. apart from a couple of things(inlet etc).

lump drops straight in. im in bristol and can supply and fit an engine for you. makes much more sence than the 2 litre.

Sorry for butting in, just out of interest how much would you charge for a engine & box & fitting?

Stick a 325i throttle body on there for now. It makes a worthwhile improvement for very little money, and improves mpg slightly. You don't have to change the manifold unless you want to go squeeze a bit more power out of it. And of course chip it.

Stuart.

What are the stats of a standard 320? and 325?

TBH mate, I was told by my insurance company that there was no differance between driving a 320 and a 325, yeah they may be thick but I didn't argue.

TBH mate, the extra insurance isn't going to be as much as an exhaust and manifold from the zone shop - go for a 2.5 if you can. If you really cant, then sort the suspension and brakes and do a 2.5 in a years time when you are that extra year older and have the extra claims free.

I just bought the 320 and to be honest there arent many good e30's round here. Im really pleased with it so just gonna keep hold of it. Its immaculate and was only 800 smackers. Would like a 2.5 eventually though